Indie Film in Pittsburgh - College of Humanities and Social Sciences ...

I began to understand the how and why of the
business. It was immensely helpful.
Reading Viktor Frankl
In the preface to the 1992 edition of “Man’s
Search for Meaning,” Victor Frankl talks about
the phenomenal success of the book and how he
never intended this to be the work that made him
famous. He actually wanted it to be published
anonymously. He goes on to say, “Again and
again, I therefore admonish my students both in
Europe and in America: ‘Don’t aim at success—
the more you aim at it and make it a target, the
more you are going to miss it. For success, like
happiness, cannot be pursued; it must ensue, and
it only does so as the unintended side-effect of
one’s dedication to a cause greater than oneself.”
Frankl’s words sparked in me the realization that
writing is less about what we want than what life
wants from us. Writing is about the passion to
express, about the deep certainty that you are
called to do something. Once I knew that—and I
mean really knew it—the worry about what would
or would not happen to my publishing career
began to abate.
Having a Mid-Life Crisis
Mid-life crises can be useful. As usual, I wanted
to be first and so had mine in my late thirties. I’d
gone ten years since my first book was published
and decided that, perhaps, the universe was trying
to give me a hint. So I abandoned writing for two
years and took a full-time job in which I
experienced the profound joy of earning a regular
paycheck. The job was creative, flexible and fun.
But I was close to miserable. One week before
September 11, 2001, I quit my job and decided
that even if I had to self-publish my novels, I was
going to write one just for myself. Six months
later I sold that book, “Donuthead,” to Knopf,
now a division of Random House. The result of
following my instincts without regard to what is
wise, publishable or profitable has resulted in five
more book contracts.
Sue Stauffacher (H&SS, ’83) is the author of three
novels and a collection of folktales. She is
married to Roger Gilles (H&SS, ’83). They live in
Grand Rapids, Michigan, with their two sons,
Max and Walter. You can learn more about Sue
and her books at www.suestauffacher.com
How Personal Crisis Begat No Tell Motel
By Reb Livingston
Discouragement and general malaise almost
prevented me from initiating what is probably my
most enriching project to date. I always wanted to
start a literary journal, but every time I considered
embarking on such a project, the damning voice in
my head would say, “Do we really need another
literary journal?” It’s a fair question; there are
thousands of literary journals, the majority with
miniscule readerships. Another issue to consider
was “what could I offer that wasn’t already being
offered?”
After completing my MFA at Bennington in
2001, I was anxious to continue “my life of
letters” and maintain a connection with a poetry
community. I did what seemed logical, kept
writing, kept reading, always had work submitted
in the pipeline. I attended conferences and
readings, placed poems, book reviews and the
occasional essay or interview in both print and
online journals. I maintained a mailing list of my
graduating classmates so we could easily keep in
touch and encourage each other. As the months
turned to years, a significant number of my
community slowly dropped out of the writing
scene, some discouraged by their lack of quick
publishing success, some seeming to lose their
interest in writing all together. My community
was getting smaller and I, quite lonesome.